Fact: “In December 2006 the Tacoma News Tribune reported that new numbers from the state showed that Wal-Mart still accounted for the largest number of workers receiving benefits from the state’s Medicaid and Basic Health plan. The number for Wal-Mart was 3,194–far ahead of number two McDonald’s with 1,932.”

Fact: “In March 2006 the Philadelphia Inquirer published a report on data it obtained from the Department of Public Welfare on the percentage of workers enrolled in Medicaid at the ten largest employers in the state. Wal-Mart was at the top of the list, with 15.8 percent of its workforce (7,577 individuals) enrolled. Giant Food Stores was second with 11.8 percent (2,244 workers).”

On Thursday I wrote an update about my mothers ongoing lawsuit where she is the defendant against false accusations. If you have not already read this post, please do so here. You might say I am taking advantage of this story to further my own goals — and you are right, in part. But my mother needs the help. And this story infuriates me.

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Wrong. Justice for the wealthy.

Late last year a 16-year-old Texas boy hit and killed 4 people while driving drunk. His defense hinged on so-called “affluenza,” by which he was said to have not learned proper behavior because he was raised in a wealthy household where bad behavior was not punished. Okay, I will buy that if his parents did not raise him well he might be a “worse” child. But to allow this to way in legal defense for murder? I am sorry, but this is wrong at a very fundamental level.

Privilege let him have all the fun I am sure he had without getting in serious trouble (until now). But in a civil society privilege absolutely CANNOT let him get away with murder. I don’t care who you are or where you come from – we all know drinking and driving is illegal. In fact, being from an affluent family he is far more likely to have received a good education and been taught the significant effects of impairment along with its potential legal consequences.

Rehabilitation over punishment makes sense to me on many levels. He should go to rehab. He should be taught how to be a normal member of society. Being a minor, he should be separated from his parents and should be put through a program to teach him responsibility and social awareness. He should not be given a reduced sentence. He should not be going to rehab at a gorgeous estate that costs a half million dollars. He should not be treated differently because of his privilege.

I am not a lawyer and I am not familiar with the minute details of the case – perhaps this punishment is fair in terms of the precedent of the legal system. But I can tell you this – a defense on “affluenza” should not even be an option – it should be unthinkable.

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My mother is not rich and she will not have a world-class lawyer to get her out of this situation. But she does have a lawyer, and he does cost a lot of money. Help my campaign to support her financially. Donate now.

But by and large, I think that the three classes in America today are relatively rigid and solidified in nature. Most people, I contend, are happy living their lives the same way that they did while growing up, provided that they had all of the basic necessities of life

I came across this blog post from Gain Sense about class and class mobility (or immobility) today. Read it, then consider my thoughts below. Fair warning: talking about class/opportunity/my childhood usually ends with me jumping all over the place. There is just so much there – it defines every piece of who I am.Continue reading →

Working in a Food Bank means I am learning a great deal about different government assistance policies and initiatives in addition to the work of private organizations. One of the most important government program in food-related assistance is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Previously known as Food Stamps, SNAP is the fundamental method for providing government assistance to those in need of food support. As of the June 2013 estimate, SNAP serves about 48 million Americans in the 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

SNAP is the modern result of extensive changes throughout a long history of governmental food assistance. SNAP serves a number of vulnerable populations including children, the disabled, the elderly, and low-income workers. Over 80% of SNAP recipients have a gross household income below the poverty rate and about 42% of recipients have a household income less than half the poverty rate!

SNAP benefits are determined by a number of factors including household size and income. One of the most controversial and difficult challenges of entitlement programs are their effect on incentives and the need to work – SNAP addresses these challenges by utilizing an earnings deduction as well as gradual reduction in benefits when earnings are increased. This structure ensures that SNAP does not remove the incentive to work (the deduction means that increasing earnings will increase overall welfare, not just reduce entitlements) while mitigating problems such as earnings barriers (limits to maximum and minimum income a recipient would want to achieve in order to continue receiving benefits) and removing the exclusive purchase requirement of the previous food stamp programs.

To completely describe SNAP is beyond the scope of this post and well beyond my expertise. Read more SNAP facts from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, our check out their series “Setting the Record Straight on SNAP.” This is especially important now, as Congress debates the legislation that authorizes the funding of SNAP. The 2008 farm bill would have already expired if not for an extension to September 30th. Now both houses of congress have passed their respective versions of the bill and will begin negotiating a final bill to send to the president.

Based on the 217:210 vote in the House (no Democrats voted Yay and only 15 Republicans Nay) it is clear Republicans will be demanding cuts to SNAP in the final version. Also, check out the so-called “SNAP Challenge” 26 members of Congress are taking to highlight the need for SNAP funding. To note: of the 26 congressmen/women participating, zero are Republican.

There are hundreds of reasons why a person or a family could become homeless. From financial insecurity to health woes, homelessness is often a result of several factors coming together to create a situation where people must make difficult choices between food, shelter, and health. Here is a glimpse at three broad factors leading to homelessness:

One Bump Away

If you are poor, you are essentially an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets. – National Coalition for the Homeless

Think about it – you need not even be considered impoverished. You could be doing fairly well, with a job that allows you to live a decent life. Things might be tight sand you do not have a lot of savings, but you always get by and you are never seriously in need of assistance. Suddenly unexpected tragedy occurs: you lose your job or maybe you sustain a serious injury. Some people are lucky enough to have insurance and support networks to smooth over this difficult time, but what if you don’t? What happens when the money stops coming in but the bills keep piling up? Would you choose to keep your home and go hungry, or would you like to continue eating but live on the streets. There are choices real people make.

2. Bad Public Policy

I already touched on minimum wage, but other public policies contribute to the abundance of homelessness. For instance, programs like TANF have been the target of political attempts to reduce social security and/or control budget deficits. Often cuts cripple the effectiveness of these programs and even when cuts do not occur inflation eventually decreases the real value of assistance.

Likewise, low-income housing is not providing enough living space for poor families and individuals. While price ceilings and government subsidies are the ugly face of affordable housing, larger policy goals create the structure supporting unaffordable housing. Zoning regulations and development goals strongly influence property values and community development. Uninspired laissez-faire policies and tremendous loopholes allow companies to export jobs and horde profits at the executive level, reducing wages and increasing unemployment at all socioeconomic levels. And of course there is health care – I don’t think anyone needs an explanation on how the mess that is healthcare and insurance could contribute to homelessness.

3. Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and Domestic Abuse

Mental illness is a factor in homelessness, not because the mentally ill are unable to live normal lives but because they often cannot receive the assistance they need to do so. Things like routine treatment and simple household assistance would greatly increase the ability for many mentally ill people to live independent lives.

Substance abuse is both a cause and a product of homelessness. Substance abuse alone is unlikely to cause someone to become homeless – many well-off people are alcoholics and junkies. It is when addiction is combined with poverty, job loss,or other factors that homelessness becomes a serious threat.

Domestic abuse is unlikely to be the first thing that comes to mind when we consider reasons for homelessness. Women and children are the most likely to be victims of domestic abuse, but men too experience it. Victims living in poor conditions with little resources may have to choose between continuing to live in an abusive situation or fleeing to the streets.

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The point here is this: there are many causes of homelessness, not all of which are immediately the fault of the person who s homeless. For sure, many times homelessness can be avoided by hard work and determination – but when this occurs we do not hear about it. Those people continue living their lives and they do not end up a statistic. We do not see them in the street. The people we see are those who, for whatever reason, did not or could not overcome these challenges.

The homeless in America have many stories. The next time you find yourself making a judgement about a homeless person, ask yourself: what is their story?

Normally I do not give anything to homeless people with two exceptions for when: (1) I am having a most excellent day and I just feel like sharing my life high and (2) the people are being what I tell myself is deserving: playing music, helping people with directions, or otherwise being productive. But two days ago I tried to change this philosophy when, while sitting at a red light, I tried to give a homeless man $1. I was thinking about how I was driving a van full of food for the needy and how my job is (partly) to help the homeless. And how in my personal life I ignore the homeless people I meet. I wanted to give a dollar. I wanted to do something different. Continue reading →

Like this:

Recently, McDonald’s workers have created quite a stir with their demand for a minimum wage of $15. From an economic standpoint, the debate is centered on how the rising cost of labor will impact prices and employment. Firms in the industry already have a relatively high portion of costs attributed to labor due to little need for expensive machinery and other technology. With labor accounting for so much, one of three scenarios would likely happen: Continue reading →

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Bucket List

-Backpack Europe
-Become a Big Brother
-Build a Bike
-Build/fix a Car
-Climb a glacier
-Climb a mountain (a big one)
-Commute to work/school by bike (in USA)
-Design a cycling system/infrastructure
-Design my own house (or at least help)
-Do all the Fatherly things I never experienced
-Drive a Lambo/Ferrari/Porsche/ Pagani...something
-Get a Master's in Planning, Public Policy, etc.
-Hang glide
-Hike the entire Appalachian Trail
-Learn the Drums, Guitar, Piano, or Sax
-Live in at least 10 states (1 of 10)
-Live on all 7 continents (2 of 7)
-Pet a shark
-Play with a tiger cub
-Receive a "World's Best Dad" Mug
-Run a Marathon
-Run the Boston Marathon
-Sail
-Ski; Ski in the Alps
-Skydive
-Start a family
-Tough Mudder
-Travel to a Mangrove Forest
-Travel to a Volcano.
-Travel to Methuselah, the oldest non-cloning organism in the world (CA).
-Travel to the North Pole
-Travel to the Sequoia forests in NW USA
-Visit all 50 States (21 of 50)
-Visit at least as many countries as states (9 of 50)
-Write a Book
-Zipline
X Bike across America
x Drive an electric car
x Graduate high school
x Graduate college
x Live in another country
X Skinny dipping
x Win a game of "Settlers" against Andreas and Trine
x X-Games